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Classification of 'au' ending reciprocal verbs
Get PDF本稿では接尾辞「～あう」がついた相互動詞の意味と用法を、姫野(1999)の枠組みを基本として、相互的な働きかけがあるかどうかで大きく二つに分け、それを同時・交互・繰り返という時間に下位分類した後、その意味特徴をかんがえたものである。departmental bulletin pape
Anchor rating in performance-based speaking tests
Get PDFWith the increasing utilization of performance-based assessments in English language programs, procedures must be enhanced for making the judged performances more reliable. This study investigates the potential of anchor rating through the utilization of many-facet Rasch measurement techniques in order to make ratings more reliable and more consistent within a given test administration as well as from one test administration to another. Five raters, two with a great deal of experience, one with some experience, and two with no experience in rating tests of speaking ability, assigned ratings to sixty graduate students ranging from intermediate to advanced levels of proficiency. The two experienced raters also re-rated videotaped tests of students that they had rated in two previous administrations of the test. Results showed that the two highly experienced raters stayed generally consistent in their ratings over time. A second finding of the study was that the pool of raters in the study varied significantly in their relative severity, but became less diverse with experience and training. New raters also showed marked changes in level of severity from one test administration to the next. It is argued that anchor rating may be a viable means of improving the reliability and comparability of performance-based scores when anchor raters are highly experienced and have a lot of stake in the test.departmental bulletin pape
The Politics of China-ASEAN Economic Relations: Assessing the Move Towards an FTA
Get PDFThis paper studies the strategic/diplomatic aspects of China's decision to form a Free Trade Area (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November 2001 and associated developments since then. FTA represents one significant step forward in China's economic diplomacy towards ASEAN, considering China's involvement in the various other venues of regional economic affairs. An in-depth reading of the policy rationale contained in the joint ASEAN-China expert study group's report shows that the FTA decision resulted from a largely diplomatic-political imperative on the part of China. Nonetheless, movement towards an FTA came about after studious Chinese efforts to win over ASEAN's trust for the past decade. In proposing the FTA, China pursues two strategic goals: development of its southwestern provinces and competition with Japan in terms of demonstrating leadership in regional economic affairs.departmental bulletin pape
The relationship between lexical richness and the higher levels of English proficiency
Get PDFIn a previous article (Smith, 2001), the author investigated the relationship between the lexical richness of free writing and the holistic score ratings awarded to the free writing samples. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between the lexical richness of free writing and the English proficiency levels of the subjects who produced the free writing samples. The subject population and the lexical richness data are identical to those which appeared in the author's previous study. Both studies were designed to complement and extend Laufer and Nation's pioneering work (1995) in these fields of research, particularly with respect to the choice of subject population. Whereas Laufer and Nation's study assembled subject populations with low intermediate and intermediate levels of English proficiency, the author's two studies gathered subjects whose English proficiencies lie in the intermediate-advanced-native speaker ranges. The present study was designed to provide some complementary analysis of the relationship between English proficiency and the data yielded by the Lexical Frequency Profile (LFP), Laufer and Nation's tool for measuring lexical richness in free writing. Laufer and Nation argue in their 1995 article that, since it is widely assumed that a richer vocabulary knowledge is an inherent part of higher levels of general proficiency, one measure of the validity of the LFP is its ability to discriminate among writers of broadly different L2 English proficiency levels. Their analysis shows that the LFP discriminates clearly among three groups of L2 English writers at low intermediate to intermediate levels of general proficiency. This study investigates to what extent the LFP continues to discriminate among English proficiency levels within a subject population which has higher levels of proficiency than those reported in the Laufer and Nation article. The main finding of the study is that the LFP discriminates significantly between the low proficiency group and the high proficiency group, but does not discriminate significantly between the middle proficiency group and the high proficiency group. This suggests that, within the context of free writing, some qualifications need to be made to the assumed association between a richer vocabulary knowledge and higher levels of general proficiency.departmental bulletin pape
Chaos, Prediction and International Financial Crises
Get PDFThe lasting theoretical significance of the South East Asian financial crisis of 1997/98 is that it poignantly offers a critical empirical assessment of equilibrium-centered (first generation) models of international financial crisis. Situating discussion initially in a vignette and commentary on recent events in Argentina, and while reflecting upon the S.E. Asian crisis, we comment upon policy and protocol shifts evident in the International Monetary Fund. These are indicative of a demand for greater rigor in theorizing and modeling of international financial crises. From problematizing first- and second-generation models the paper turns to explore the conceptual basis for, and possible meanings of a third generation of models grounded upon Chaos Theory. At this juncture the domains of prediction and financial crisis instability are explored in formal terms. In this connection, the Lyapunov exponent is presented as an indicator of chaos or crisis instability that may be used to address such issues as the relative (in)stability of the international financial system. This proposed third generation of models could hold the middle ground between the often-formalized first generation of conventional neoclassical economic analysis and generally under-formalized Post-Keynesian second generation.departmental bulletin pape
THE IMPACT OF REAL EXCHANGE RATES ON JAPANESE DIRECT INVESTMENT IN CHINA'S MANUFACTURING : AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT
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Curriculum Development for a Graduate Level Academic Discussion Course
Get PDFThis report is a detailed description of the curriculum used for English for International Relations & Development I (EIRD I) Discussion course at the International University of Japan (IUJ). It articulates the goals, objectives and rational of the course, as well as the relationship to the parallel course (EIRD I) Oral Presentation. This report consists of the syllabus, weekly schedule, guidelines, assessment sheets, sample quiz, and sample lessons developed by the students in teacher-guided activities. In addition, assessment, vocabulary quizzes, and the final speaking test will be discussed. The course evaluation is used to discuss the effectiveness of the instructor and course. Recommendations are made to enhance the quality of both.departmental bulletin pape
A report on Advanced Japanese courses at IUJ and an analysis of SPOT results
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Airport-Efficiency Measurement : Methodologies, Data Requirements, and Monte-Carlo Experiments
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Is the oral interview superior to the group oral?
Get PDFAs performance-based speaking tests become more prevalent, there is a growing need to examine different test formats for different testing situations. This study compares the group oral to the oral interview in two separate test administrations of both tests. Data collection included test scores assigned by two trained raters, a classroom rating assigned by a trained rater who was teaching the class, student questionnaires, rater comments, and informal interviews with students. Classical test analysis and many-facet Rasch measurement were utilized to analyze the data. Little difference was found in regard to test reliability and neither the students nor the teachers showed a clear preference for which test they thought was more effective. However, test ratings as compared to classroom ratings favored the oral interview as a more effective test. It is suggested that the latter finding might be because some weaker students can mask their weaknesses on the group oral by controlling the conversation. The paper also provides insights into some of the problems which arise in performance-based speaking tests and makes a case for the utilization of many-facet Rasch measurement to help reduce some of the subjective factors inherent when a performance is assessed by multiple raters.departmental bulletin pape